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Buck2: Our open source build system

(engineering.fb.com)
392 points mfiguiere | 4 comments | 06 Apr 23 16:05 UTC | HN request time: 1.409s | source
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phendrenad2 ◴[06 Apr 23 21:48 UTC] No.35474996[source]▶
> Build systems stand between a programmer and running their code, so anything we can do to make the experience quicker or more productive directly impacts how effective a developer can be.

How about doing away with the build system entirely? Build systems seem like something that shouldn't exist. When I create a new C# .NET app in Visual Studio 2019, what "build system" does it use? You might have an academic answer, but that's beside the point. It doesn't matter. It just builds. Optimizing a build system feels like a lack of vision, and getting stuck in a local maxima where you think you're being more productive, but you're not seeing the bigger picture of what could be possible.

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1. phinnaeus ◴[07 Apr 23 01:44 UTC] No.35477035[source]▶
Have you ever worked on a project that has to combine code from different languages into one cohesive application or tool? Have you ever had to build a binary that needs to end up in an installer package with some custom install scripts and also needs to support multiple end user OSs?

It's nice that you've lived in a world where you haven't had to concern yourself with the concerns of how your code is built, but please understand that some of us actually need or want to delve into this. It can't always be magic.

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2. phendrenad2 ◴[07 Apr 23 02:05 UTC] No.35477151[source]▶
Building different languages into one cohesive application or tool is a procedural process. I build the code in language A, I build the code in language B, I package them together in some way, and do something with the result. I don't need a build tool with a custom declarative language for that, I can just use a BASH script. The problem is people want to do both high-level merging such as this and low-level compilation management using the same declarative language. It should really be two things.
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3. phinnaeus ◴[07 Apr 23 12:52 UTC] No.35481078[source]▶
> I package them together in some way

That's a build system!

> I can just use a BASH script

Yep you can. Many build systems start out like that. Complexity tends to creep in.

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4. phendrenad2 ◴[07 Apr 23 19:52 UTC] No.35486216{3}[source]▶
A shell script that copies files into a directory may technically be a "build system" in the same way that a hot dog it technically a sandwich. Obviously (question mark?) I'm not talking about that.